"Sterling, I am about to give you a very special gift. I want you to close your eyes, okay?"
"Alright, mama." The little girl of four years said excitedly.
"Good girl. Now, on the count of three, I want you to open your eyes. Can you do that for me?" Sylvie asked her daughter.
"Yes, mama."
"Great. Now, I will count to three. One... two... three!"
And when the little girl's eyes opened, she gasped in awe.
"Ooh, it's so pretty! What is it?" Sterling asked curiously.
"That, my little Star, is a music box. It was your grandmother's, and it was your mother's. Now, it's yours. Happy birthday, pumpkin." Sterling's father, Louis, told her.
"Thank you mama, thank you papa!"
"We're glad you like it, Star." Sylvie said with a smile.
The family of three shared a loving hug, and Sterling was in the middle of it, being embraced by her two favorite people in the world.
"Mama, does it play music?" The four year old questioned her mother.
"Of course it does. Do you want to know how to play it?"
"Yes please!" She responded eagerly.
"So, pumpkin, you see this thing sticking out of the side?" Louis asked.
"Yeah?"
"That is what you turn. If you turn it a lot, it will play the song for a long time."
"So this thing that turns is what makes it play music?"
"You catch on pretty quick. Yes, that's exactly what it does." Her mother said.
"That's so cool! What do I use this for?"
"You play music to fall asleep. I did that for you all the time when you were toddler, just three years before now." Sylvie told her daughter.
"Wow. Can I play it now?"
"I think you should save it for night time, darling. Now, let's eat cake!"
"Yeah! I love cake!"
"We know you do." Little Sterling's parents said in unison.